Saudi Arabia's transport infrastructure investment vital - CEO

26 October 2010 13:20[Source: ICIS news]

BAHRAIN (ICIS)--Saudi Arabia's investments in infrastucture improvements and expansion are vital in ensuring it can accept next-generation vessels and cope with an increasing number of containers, Red Sea Gateway Terminal CEO Aamer Alireza said on Tuesday.

Alireza was speaking to delegates at the two-day Second Gulf Petrochemical and Chemical Association (GPCA) Supply Chain Conference in Manama, Bahrain.

He said: "Saudi is the seventh-largest petrochemical producer worldwide and has the biggest port network in [the] Middle East with [a volume of] 1m TEUs (20ft equivalent units) projected in 2011."

Alireza added the Saudi government is investing "an estimate of $400bn (€288bn) over the next five years" to expand and upgrade its infrastructure, including ports, airports and transportation.

Historically, Jeddah lost transshipment volumes due to capacity limitations, but Alireza said: "We are predicting a growth of 45% over year 2010 following the commercial operation of the Red Sea Terminal in late 2009."

He added: "The next step will include debottlenecking of road networking in and out of the port to enhance efficiency to the trucking market."